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Night Of The Living Dead

Imagine the following: you’re locked inside a mall with three friends. You’re the only ones inside; no annoying families with their kids, no other people whatsoever. How would you react? That’s what Stephen, Francine, Roger and Peter find out in today’s movie review of yetanother sequel during my weirdo’ween reviews: Dawn Of The Dead from 1978. I’m actually a huge fan of this movie [I have a shirt with the movie’s poster on it!] as I feel like it’s one of the defining zombie films of all time. It’s violent, it’s an interesting concept, and it’s a cult film; for all the right reasons. So the real question is: will you[and your friends] survive the oncoming zombie apocalypse? Let’s find out!

For those that aren’t as into horror like the rest of us, [or maybe you just haven’t seen the films?]Dawn Of The Dead is actually a sequel to the black and white film Night Of The Living Dead, which a lot of people call “the original zombie film.” Dawn takes place some time afterNight; when the dead had started to rise and attack the living. Naturally, this means civilization has already started to crumble. Dawn takes place in the city of Philadelphia, where TV station workers Stephen and Francine decide to run, considering the situation is starting to worsen and, after meeting two others: Roger and Peter – two special policemen who were ordered to move any people into rescue stations who have also choose to run – decide their best course of action is to steal the TV station’s helicopter and go west in an attempt to find somewhere safe to hide out.. Eventually, they come across a deserted mega-mall in Monroeville, which is just outside Pittsburgh, and agree [as a group] to wait inside until the crisis is over; that’s assuming itdoes end.

This movie is fun; I mean a lot of fun. Dawn Of The Dead is the work of George A Romero when he’s truly on top of his game. Given almosttotal control of the movie, his unique and vivid view of a world in absolute turmoil is absolutely scary to realize that it’s something that’s totally possible.

The interesting thing about Dawn is that it’s not just a zombie flick, it’s almost a warning about the fragile structure of society as a whole, and how easily it can be broken down..granted, by zombies; but still! Like most horror movies these days, many people criticize the film for being “too over the top” and said the quality of the acting isn’t that great.. But to be honest, this is a positive! Consider that Romero uses glaring – even harsh – sets and visual effects. Add this to the dialogue the film’s “heroes” use and you have a movie that tries to pull us into a false sense of security. Only to have the hypothetical carpet pulled from under our feet, showing us that we aren’t safe; and that this situation is going to have us all dead by the end of the day. [get it? cause “Day Of The Dead” is the next film in the “Of The Dead” series? ..come on, that was funny, right?]

The one thing I’ve always loved about this movie is the setting: The Mall. I mean, with only four survivors, they have the entire mall at their disposal for weapons: either a baseball bat from the sports shop, a gun or two from the hunting depot; the possibilities are endless! [Fun Fact: The video game Dead Rising got it’s concept from this movie!] Usually, when things go to hell, people like to buy them stuff they don’t need in order to feel better. Chances are, during a zombie apocalypse, we’d probablystill do exactly the same [it’d just be called “looting”] and that’s why the shopping spree scene in this movie works so well. It’s like Romero knows that that we’d all love to be let loose in an entire shopping mall with anything up for the taking, and pokes fun at us in the process.. Showing that even with the dead returning to life and eating all of our friends, we’d still probably want that big screen TV.

Dawn Of The Dead is undoubtedly one of the most important films ever made. It inspired a crazy amount of cheap ripoff’s that are still being made today and it stands proudly on many horror fan’s list of favorite films. It even got itself a remake [by the same name] and, surprisingly, it turned out to be alright. [not great, but not bad by any means] Though, it’s alwaysgoing to be the original that’s best; and this film is, even if it’s a little dated, a masterpiece.

Now I look to you: if you’re reading this, surely you’ve seen this film! It’s a staple in horror, making it one of [if not the] the most important films I’m going to review this Halloween season! If you’ve seen it, what are your thoughts? Let me know in a comment or two! If you haven’t seen it, do it! It’s well deserving of it’s love, for it’s story and it’s violence! Also, if you have an idea for the nextweirdo’ween review please let me know which movie[s]you want to see next! If you found yourself to enjoy this particular review – and want to see more – then take a minute and follow me over on my Facebook page[it’s at over 120+ likes almost at 130!] By clicking that “like” button, you’ll see every post from warrenisweird the very moment it’s been posted online; as well as links to articles and pictures/videos that will not be featured here on the blog. Every “like” helps me a ton, giving me the ability to write more posts for you to read, so be sure to tell the horror enthusiast in your life to do the same, and share The Facebook Page with your family and friends! Join me tomorrow when I post weirdo’ween #05! STAY TUNED!

Cemeteries have always held an air of creepiness to them: they are places where we bury our loved ones, giving them a final resting place. Sometimes, the place manages to creep you out because of the way it looks – all decrepit and broken down – but, there’s a reason the Fantasy and Horror genre tend to like this setting. In these cemeteries, it is almost always night and often, the moon is full, for extra supernatural points. Fog is usually a contributing factor, and more importantly, the dead aren’t ‘really dead‘! I mean, some horror movies revolve around being in a cemetery! But as expected, not all film cemeteries are created equal; many are pretty standard, boring versions of what is supposed to be granite tombstones and black, but bland backgrounds. But every so often, we get a glimpse at what seems to be a truly spectacular collection of mausoleums and even more headstones, sometimes with familiar names engraved on them! Or maybe I’m just overthinking this whole thing. Either way, this is warrenisweird‘s TOP FIVE cemeteries, in horror movies. As with all my list posts, this is entirely an opinion piece – if you disagree, or have preferred horror movie cemeteries, be sure to leave a comment with your favorites!

Because of course I would be adding this movie! Esthetically, this cemetery isn’t really isn’t anything spectacular that makes it stand out, but the scenery around it is very nice..especially for wandering zombies – even though we never really see one come from inside a grave! In real life, this location is known as Evans City Cemetery, and if you find yourself curious, thiswebsite compares the film and the cemetery as it stands today!

often referred to as the goriest film of all time, Braindead strongly deserves that title. It’s extremely gory, even for a film that doesn’t take itself too seriously.. Even the scene above shows that Peter Jackson was a master at making gory horror flicks in his early days as a Director.

You know what I like more than slasher films? Monster movies; specifically – movies like Nightbreed. The movie follows a troubled young man, who is drawn to a mythical place under a cemetery called Midian. In Midian, he quickly learns that there are a variety of monsters are hiding.. from the humanity above. After Hellraiser, I fell in love with Clive Barker‘s work, and Nightbreed confirmed it.

Say what you will, but I actually really enjoyed Sam Raimi‘s return to horror with Drag Me To Hell; it was dark and gritty, it had the slapstick humor that Raimi is known for, and most importantly – it had a really dirty cemetery scene..which I loved. If you enjoyed Drag Me To Hell, let me know in a comment! I can’t be the only one..

Speaking of Raimi, who could forget the scene in this movie when Ash forgets the ‘magic’ words from the Necronomicon? it’s funny, it’s slapstick silly, and it’s probably the most memorable cemetery on this entire list! And that’s saying something!

So what have we learned today? Besides the obvious, cemeteries aren’t always made the same in movies. Sure, they are the birth place of the hoards of the undead, and in the case of a Zombie Apocalypse, expect every grave to be a “Clown Car Grave“. As with most of my ‘list’ posts, there is literally thousands of different cemeteries I could have mentioned for this list. Hell, I’m sure I’m going to get comments asking why this cemetery wasn’t added or this one; and I’ll quickly realize that I didn’t even consider/think of that one! So now I ask you: what is your favorite horror movie cemetery/resting place? Did I mention it above? If not, let me know in a comment or two! I’d love to compare lists!

Also, if you found yourself to enjoy this article, please take a minute and follow meover on my Facebook page[it’s at over 100+ likes – thanks so much!] By clicking “like”, you’ll see everypost from warrenisweird the very moment it’s been posted. I alsoshare links to articles and pictures/videos that will not be featured here on the blog. Every “like” helps me a ton, giving me the ability to write more posts for you guys to read, so be sure to tell the horror enthusiast in your life to do the same, and share the page with your family and friends!